The Esoteric

For the Esoteric, whose Lawrence, Kansas, home/studio burned to its foundations in late February, the nomadic lifestyle has become an indefinite necessity. Less than two weeks after the faulty-wiring-provoked conflagration, bandmembers started playing scheduled shows in support of their upcoming Prosthetic Records release, With the Sureness of Sleepwalking, using donated equipment and donning charitable-contribution clothing. At these gigs, they exhibited the aggressive intensity of a group funneling everything it has to live for into its concerts -- but then, they always have. Drummer Marshall Kilpatric shakes his dreads like a seizure-stricken Medusa as he pounds out blast beats; Stevie Cruz unleashes a primal howl pitched between profound pain and premeditated malevolence; and dual guitar harmonies thrive amid the searing riffs like oases on the sun's surface. For members of the Esoteric, the stage provides a safe haven, and wrecking-ball-hailstorm-heavy hardcore sounds like salvation.